Rangers fall to Lightning, 2-1, at the Garden

NEW YORK – Ben Bishop’s superior goaltending frustrated the Rangers’ shooters all game.

But it was one shift of inferior defense as the Lightning struck for a second time in nine seconds for the decisive goal on Nikita Kucherov’s second-period breakaway that most upset Rangers coach Alain Vigneault.

“There’s a lot of parts to our game I liked tonight,” Vigneault said. “The second goal is a little bit disappointing, not to say frustrating because it’s something we talked about this morning, it’s shown on video. They had done the exact same play three shifts before.”

The 6-foot-7 Bishop returned from a four-game layoff due to a sprained right wrist and made 34 saves to will Tampa Bay to a 2-1 win over the Rangers on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden in a game played at a high pace with strong chances for both squads.

“He’s so big, you look up and you don’t see anything,” defenseman Marc Staal said. “For a big guy like that, you’ve got to get in front of him. You’ve got to get him down and he’s got to be guessing where the puck is going.”

The Rangers (24-21-3), who conclude this four-game homestand Thursday against the Red Wings, had a three-game winning streak snapped but are 8-3-1 since Dec. 22. Henrik Lundqvist stopped 23 shots and played well, just not as well as Bishop, who blanked the Rangers, 5-0, with a 37-save performance at Tampa Bay on Nov. 25.

The Lightning (27-15-4), who lost at Columbus, 3-2, Monday night but were the stronger skating team early, are third in the Eastern Conference and tied the Atlantic Division-leading Bruins with 60 points.

“For a team that played last night, they came out pretty hard,” center Derick Brassard said. “They’re a fast team. Their defensemen are always pinching and keeping the puck in. I think they really surprised us in the first period.”

But the game didn’t turn for the Lightning until early in the second period.

Ryan Callahan was called for high sticking after defenseman Eric Brewer lifted his stick and it hit Bishop in the mask 29 seconds in. Victor Hedman, shaken up in a collision with Brian Boyle at 13:47 of the first period, connected for a power-play goal at 1:10 of the second period as his shot deflected in off Boyle.

Tom Pyatt beat Brassard on the ensuing faceoff, Rangers left wing Benoit Pouliot was caught too far up ice trying to regain the puck and Lightning defenseman Radko Gudas sprung Kucherov for a breakaway at 1:19 made possible by defensemen Michael Del Zotto and John Moore giving him a wide skating lane down the middle.

“There are two mistakes,” Vigneault said. “One is the forward going out to their defensemen and giving them that time and our defensemen not picking up their forward. Two simple reads.

“We had enough chances to come back and, at the end of the day, you’ve got to find ways to score more goals,” Vigneault added.

Bishop made a combined four saves as the Rangers could not convert on their two third-period power-play chances, their only two of the game. On the first, Ryan McDonagh hit the left post with a slap shot at 7:09 and Bishop stoned Mats Zuccarello at the crease at 7:34. Brad Richards had given the Rangers a 1-0 lead at 11:55 of the first period.